In 1865, Eliza Leiper Smith (1847–1912), great-granddaughter of Elizabeth and Thomas Leiper, married James Edward Farnum (1833–1884). Together, they began acquiring land that eventually became the 100-acre farm they called The Acres.

Bounded by Farnum Road—then called Crum Creek Road, Beatty Road, and the Crum Creek valley—the estate’s entrance was on Beatty Road, and the property straddled the Upper and Nether Providence Township line. On an 1870 map, J. E. Farnum’s estate lay mostly in Nether Providence, where the house stood, with an irregularly shaped section extending into Upper Providence. A 1875 map gives clues to the landscape: much of the property was wooded. By 1882, the estate comprised 80 acres. By 1909, additional land had been acquired on the Upper Providence side, bringing the estate to its full 100 acres.

Before the Farnums: In 1681, English immigrant Thomas Minshall received a 625 acre land grant from William Penn—300 acres in Nether Providence, including what is now Media, 315 acres in Middletown Township, now part of Tyler Arboretum, and 10 acres of “Liberty Land” near Philadelphia. The Nether Providence tract extended from what is now Providence Road eastward to Crum Creek.

Long before Minshall received his grant, the area was part of the ancestral homeland of the Unami-speaking Lenni-Lenape. They maintained a managed landscape of cultivated fields, forests, wetlands, and waterways, with semi-permanent and seasonal settlements supporting farming, hunting, fishing, and foraging. Swedish settlers later established farms in the area, and the land continued to be used primarily for agriculture and, later, milling operations for generations.

Philadelphia’s High-Society Gilded Age

J. Edward Farnum was president of the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad Company, a short-line railroad that provided a southern route from West Chester through Media to Philadelphia. He led the company during a period of intense negotiations, when outside investors and the Pennsylvania Railroad competed to buy the line. He was also a stockholder and longtime board member of the prominent Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Bank of Philadelphia, located at 427 Chestnut Street in the largely intact 400 block known as “Bankers’ Row.”

The Acres was one of the large gentleman’s farms established in Nether Providence after the Civil War, when wealthy Philadelphians purchased former agricultural land for country estates. The Farnums were deeply involved in the suburban social scene and often put off their annual return to their Philadelphia home at 1031 Spruce Street until well after the social season ended. After J. Edward’s death, Eliza moved to 911 Clinton Street, also in the Washington Square West neighborhood.

The Farnums had five children: three sons and two daughters. One daughter died in childhood.

The family was prominent in Philadelphia’s Gilded Age society. Among other clubs, J. Edward was a member of the Rose Tree Hunt, where he sat on the Fall Races committee along with Walter Furness (Horace and Helen Kate Furness’ son), a popular event that filled the grandstands.

Eliza Smith Farnum was equally at home as a country gentlewoman. She bred cattle and took first place for “Best Herd of Jerseys—4 cows and a bull” at the Delaware County Fair in 1884. Breeding cattle was a popular pursuit among gentleman—and gentlewoman—farmers. That same year, the Philadelphia Times reported that “the breeding of Jersey cattle has increased twenty-fold among gentlemen farmers around Philadelphia during the last few years.” Eliza was also active in charitable work, particularly on behalf of Media Hospital.

When J. Edward Farnum died in 1884 at age 51, his will authorized his executors to sell real estate if necessary. That provision did not apply to The Acres, which he specifically devised to Eliza, who managed the estate for the next 28 years.

Their surviving daughter, Elizabeth Farnum, married Dr. William Hewson Baltzell of Baltimore at Christ Episcopal Church in Media in October 1899. Afterwards, the couple moved to his Baltimore home. Just six weeks later, at age 24, Elizabeth died of typhoid fever at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her funeral was held at the same church and at the same hour as her wedding. She was buried in her wedding gown, with their former groomsmen serving as pallbearers.

While J. Edward Farnum had been the family’s only source of earned income, each member of the family had inherited wealth and investment income. Their three sons, none of whom married, did not pursue careers. Instead, they devoted themselves to hobbies, travel, and the social life enjoyed by young men of their class.

Regularly mentioned in the Philadelphia Inquirer’s society pages, the brothers belonged to the Corinthian Yacht Club in Essington and chartered a favorite yacht, The Whim, for cruises along the New England coast during the social season.

The eldest, Paul Farnum (1867–1910), played football at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a “partial student”—taking classes without matriculating toward a degree. He continued to play football competitively. In 1896, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on a game between former Penn Quakers and former Princeton Tigers that ended in a tie before 500 spectators.

Paul was also a member of the Rittenhouse Club and participated in horse competitions at Rose Tree Hunt and the Delaware County Fair. He maintained a box at the Philadelphia Horse Show, also known as the Wissahickon Heights Horse Show, in Chestnut Hill. He was a regular guest at Atlantic City’s Garden Hotel, one of the resort’s most prominent and luxurious landmarks, and sometimes escaped to St. Augustine, Florida, during the colder months. He also made several season-long trips to Europe, sometimes accompanied by his sister. Paul died at age 42.

The middle brother, James Edward Farnum, Jr. (1869–1917), known as “Ned,” followed a similar path. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University in 1890 and was a well-known figure in the university’s elite social circles. After graduation, he appeared regularly in Philadelphia, Radnor, and Media social circles.

When in London, Ned stayed at Long’s Hotel in Mayfair. The hotel served as a sort of late-night social annex for many of London’s elite gentlemen’s clubs. It even maintained a ground-floor bedroom for late-night arrivals, where porters were prepared to produce playing cards, candles, and brandy and sodas within minutes of a group’s arrival.

Ned died in 1917 at age 48.

The youngest brother, George Leiper Farnum, also participated in the parties, hunts, and other pursuits of high society. His obituary noted that he was “well-known in Main Line society circles” and belonged to the Rose Tree Hunt, the Rittenhouse Club, and the Philadelphia Club. He regularly entertained at The Acres. He also collected natural history specimens, which he bequeathed to the Academy of Natural Sciences.

But flowers occupied George more than any other interest—particularly award-winning dahlias—which he often donated to churches.

By the time he died in 1934, his estate was worth far less than the debts against it, leaving insufficient funds to fulfill the many generous bequests he made in his will.

The family is buried together at Media Cemetery. George’s grave is not marked.

Service During the Spanish-American War

The three brothers belonged to First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry (colloquially known as First City Troop), following a family tradition established by their great-great-grandfather, Thomas Leiper, one of the Troop’s founders. First City Troop began drilling in April 1898 as the United States prepared for the Spanish-American War.

George Leiper Farnum was deployed with the unit, completed the campaign, and marched through Puerto Rico in August 1898.

James Edward Farnum also served with the unit but did not go to Puerto Rico. He was discharged at Camp Alger, Virginia, on July 24, 1898, to accept a promotion to captain in the Commissary Department, just days before the Troop boarded transports for Puerto Rico.

Paul Farnum drilled with the First City Troop before the war but did not federalize for service in 1898. Instead, he remained with the home guard.

The Last Farnums at The Acres

By June 1917, George was the last surviving member of his immediate family. He remained at The Acres, attended by a staff of five: a butler, house servant, cook, gardener, and chauffeur.

Eliza had died in 1912 at age 64 of ptomaine poisoning after eating bad oysters. Rather than choosing one of her sons as executor, Eliza named her sister, Harriet deForest, to administer her estate. After making bequests of cash, jewelry, and household furnishings, Eliza left the remainder of her estate to her two surviving sons in a trust managed by an insurance company.

Her son George sold some of the land before 1934, but The Acres remained largely intact for several more decades. The major subdivision appears to have occurred after World War II, when Nether Providence was rapidly changing from a landscape of mills, farms, and country estates into a suburban residential community.

One reminder of the Farnum estate survives: Farnum Road.

About 50 acres of the former Farnum property were eventually purchased by the Jordan family. They called their estate Hidden Acres, and Mahlon Jordan developed a personal arboretum on the property.

Around 1996, Chester County-based custom builder Bentley Homes purchased Hidden Acres and began construction of a new residential development. Named Jordan Estates, it eventually included 42 single-family houses built between 1997 and 2002.

So, do you live on The Acres?

If your home is in Jordan Estates—or in one of the other neighborhoods that replaced the Farnum property—the answer may be yes. Beneath the streets, houses, and lawns of today’s Nether Providence lies the 100-acre estate where the Farnum family lived, entertained, raised show cattle, cultivated flowers, and participated in the social life of Philadelphia’s Gilded Age.